L. Michael Hall – Games Business Experts Play: Winning at the Games of Business

The unique perspective of this book is how it looks at business as a “game.” By doing so, it explores the business excellence from the standpoint of the name of the game, the rules of the game, the players, how to score, what makes a win, etc. Distinguishing healthy versus toxic games enables you to quality controlling the games you play, give you the power and focus to reject toxic games, and to refuse recruitment to unproductive games. It puts into your hands the skills for creating new empowering games.

Why view behaviors and conversations as “games?” Because that’s what we do, as inveterate game players, we play verbal, behavioral, and mental games in every facet of life. This is especially true for the context of business.

Yet these games spring from the frames we set. In business, we enter into games already underway which we then learn to play. Some of the frame games empower you to use your mental and emotional powers efficiently, other frame games undermine you, sabotage your effectiveness, and poison your state of mind. So first recognize the games, develop the power to refuse the toxic ones, and then step up to create the more enhancing ones.

Experts excel at their games and attain excellence because of the game they play, how they play, their frame of mind. Modeling their games enables us to replicate their expertise.

• Expert Business Games. To get expert results, you have to replicate the way the experts think and act. How do experts play their successful business games? What games do they play? Discover how the winning game of the business experts. Discover their frames of mind. Adopt that thinking. Say “No!” to zero-sum games. Invent new games to bring out your best.
• Game Detection Skills. Discover the art of how to detect frame games and to operate more mindfully in what you do.
• Transformation Secrets. Learn how games recruit you, how to refuse them, how to invite others to play healthier games, etc. Discover the secrets for managing change.
• Quality Control Secrets. Learn how to run quality control processes on your mental and relational games so that you can catch sick games early.
• Game Analysis. Use an analysis process for checking out the games that others seek to recruit you to and which you may unknowingly fall into playing.

Games Business Experts Play focuses first on the presence of frame games, then on the frames that set us up to play these games. Learn the art of actually catching a game in action and from there to how to change a game.

• Practical insight about why you do the things you do in business.
• Practical ability to quality control your games.
• Develop true empowerment and ability in challenging and changing old toxic
• games that undermine success.
• Take control of the higher levels of mind that determine the games, their rules, and how to play.
• Instantly recognize the games people invite you to play.
• Develop effective skills in playing Win/Win games.
• Insight about people, where they are “coming from” (the games they want to
• play) and how to effective leverage them to develop greater rapport.
• Install empowering attitudes for playing.
• Become clear and focused on the games that you want to play.
• Quickly analyze any game for understanding and reading people.

“Dr. Hall masterfully explains, demonstrates, and models Meta-States so that from newcomers to masters in this field, people effectively learn to use the model to make a difference in life.”

William P. Glaros, DDS

“The new technology of Meta-States is the most powerful strategy for change, self-improvement, and motivation since NLP. Meta-States gives the key to unlock the potential of our minds.”

Sterling Harris, Media Consultant, Wash. DC